RNC officer pleads not guilty to protection order breach
RNC Const. Steve Curnew could be headed to trial on a charge of breaching a court order under the province’s Family Violence and Protection Act.
Curnew, 43, entered a not guilty plea to the charge through his lawyer, Randy Piercey, in provincial court in St. John’s Thursday afternoon. Curnew was not present.
The court had granted a woman an emergency protection order against Curnew earlier this year, which banned him from contacting her. Court documents allege Curnew violated the order on July 30 by failing to stay away from places where the woman lives, works or otherwise frequents. He was arrested and released on a $1,000 surety.
The case will be called in court again on Oct. 19.
The charge is not a criminal one, and comes with a maximum punishment of $2,000 and six months’ imprisonment.
While the emergency protection order was valid at the time Curnew was arrested, it has since been withdrawn. Last month, the court heard the woman had contacted the RNC to say she wanted the order dropped, and Piercey said at that time the parties had come to an agreement on the matter. Judge Colin Flynn agreed to withdraw the order.
Curnew is a former media relations officer for the RNC, and a member of the criminal investigation division. He has been placed on leave.
RNC Chief Joe Boland issued a written statement at the time of Curnew’s arrest, saying Curnew was not on duty at the time of the alleged emergency protection order breach, and the reported incident did not include violence.